EMS Compass: The Missing Link in EMS

Hardly a week goes by without hearing about providers feeling left out in the planning of the futures of their agencies and the future of EMS in general. It’s true, some providers will never be happy, that is the nature of humans at large and it is present in any profession. Yet, not everyone is jaded, and many do have a point of not having had a voice in the coming change and development of EMS as we grow up. That is, until now.

The EMS Compass initiative is being led by The National Association of EMS Officials (NASEMSO) and financed by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop EMS performance measures over the next few years. Part of their plan is to invite all stakeholders (providers, managers, agencies, government) to participate via direct suggestion during the Call for Measures this month, informational and public meetings, and transparent communication via direct access to key players.

Leaders don’t necessarily need a title.

What is a performance measure?

Performance measures are common in other industries and have been used in medical practice, but not traditionally in EMS. Performance measures enable providers, management, and government agencies to track and improve performance to benefit patients and communities. Some of these measures will be clinical in nature, but operations, safety, and business/ financial aspects are also included as all of these are needed for well rounded agencies and further development of a well rounded industry.

Performance measures don’t have to be complex or convoluted. In actuality they are quite succinct. For example it is widely accepted that patients with cardiac chest pain should take an aspirin. The performance measure for that event would read: All patients who have chest pain of a cardiac nature should receive aspirin. This would then be documented via charting we already complete and reviewed later for quantification. Many things we already do such as standards for STEMI, TXA for Stroke patients, or even trauma protocols were founded in related medical professions performance measures.

Why bother?

-We will be contributing to the development of these standards for our profession, who better to do so? Historically, government at large has not been the best at recognizing what we do and our level of importance (please see “Ambulance Extenders”)

-We already contribute data via NEMSIS for data collection in the EMS industry, this process contributes to data collection and provides information for where we currently stand so we can continue to improve and move forward

-The measures are evidence based. We are Emergency MEDICAL Services and should be practicing medicine in the way that other medical professions do, with evidence not today’s whimsical idea on how to get “cool toys”.

-Provides means of measuring long term performance in our industry so when the next generation of providers arrive, they can build on the foundation we have laid.

-Currently, if your agency bills, you are paid for service whether the patient is treated well clinically and will have an improved outcome or pleased with how they were treated, Medicare will pay for the transport. In the future, in conjunction with The Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) we will be paid for the outcome: clinically accurate care, patient satisfaction, etc. Hospitals have been preparing for this for the past few years, we should not be naive to think the government will not try to limit our payments.

-Medicare is encouraging other insurance companies to follow suit on requiring a higher standard of care for payment for EMS services.

-Can lead to better provider compensation, improved provider safety and health, and better recognition of the job we do and love.

Obviously, the above is a very simplified over view of what EMS Compass is and will achieve. I have included links below for your information. There is a great webinar you can access on demand that explains how the process works and the history of data collection in EMS. I also included links to the Call for Measures that is live until the end of May, so get your measures in. I also included links to some other blogs and podcasts that have been talking about EMS Compass recently.

Until a standard is set industry wide, EMS as an profession will flounder. EMS needs to define acceptable standards of care on an industry wide level, the lowest common denominator can no longer be our standard if we are to grow into the industry we desire. Much of what is described above are things we already do, we are just organizing and tracking it now. We must to take ownership of our profession before someone else, who has no idea what we really do, tells us how to do it. You can be a part of the future of EMS on a larger level than you ever imagined by contributing to the call for measures by May 31, 2015.